Former Eagles great Al Wistert dies at 95

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Al Wistert, the superb lineman who captained the Eagles' world championship teams in 1948 and '49, has died at the age of 95, the University of Michigan announced Saturday.

Wistert was a tackle who played both offense and defense, 60 minutes almost every game, for nine seasons with the Eagles. He was an All-Pro selection in eight of those seasons and his jersey number (70) was retired by the Eagles. Wistert was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame in 2009.

An All-American at the University of Michigan, Wistert was voted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968. He was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. He was passed over by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, although his former teammates and many football historians felt he was deserving.

In his 1988 book, The Hidden Game of Pro Football, author Bob Carroll wrote that of all the players who were not yet in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the one who was most deserving was Wistert. Carroll used a simple formula to arrive at that conclusion: He tallied the consensus All-Pro selections for each player and awarded points for each. Wistert had the most points among the two-way tackles, including eight who were in the Hall.

In 1993, George Savitsky, a former Eagles teammate, wrote a letter to the board of selectors urging them to induct Wistert. He wrote: "Al certainly has all the credentials. He should have been inducted many years ago. A man of his stature and past performance, how could he be overlooked? Get him in."

Wistert, who retired to Grant's Pass, Oregon, never complained or campaigned for election. When asked about it, he was philosophical.

"There are a lot of great players," he said. "I'll just wait my turn."

Every year the Pro Football Hall of Fame puts one or two senior nominees on the ballot so Wistert still could be voted into the Hall one of these days. Sadly, however, the Chicago native won't be alive to see it.

Wistert was called "The Big Ox," but he was only 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds. On offense, he was a great trap blocker opening holes for running backs Steve Van Buren and Bosh Pritchard. On defense, coach Greasy Neale took advantage of Wistert's speed by often assigning him to shadow a back in motion. He was a ferocious tackler and leader of a defense that posted back-to-back shutouts in championship wins over the Chicago Cardinals (7-0) and Los Angeles Rams (14-0).

"I played the game to the hilt," Wistert said. "I gave it everything I had. That's the only way I knew how to play the game."

In his book, Pro Football's 100 Greatest Players, former Washington coach George Allen selected Wistert as one of the top 10 tackles of all-time. Wistert was the only one of the 10 who is not enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

Allen wrote: "Wistert seemed to be born with perfect balance. He always played in perfect position and seldom was off his feet. He was a superb pursuit man and seemed somehow to be in on every play. He was a sure tackler. He was best against the run but he was among the good early pass rushers. He was as fine a blocker as you could want. He didn't have the size to overpower people, but he was a master of every kind of block. He was skilled, determined, consistent and resourceful. He was very much a high quality player."

In the 1948 championship game, played in a raging snowstorm, the only touchdown was scored by Van Buren on a short run and the key block was thrown by Wistert, the right tackle. Wistert was also the first one to reach Van Buren in the end zone.

"I said, 'Guess what, Steve? We're world champions," Wistert recalled.

Wistert was one of three brothers — Al, Francis and Alvin — who earned All-America honors at Michigan, but he was the only one to play in the NFL. His jersey No. 11 was retired by the school. He was selected by the Eagles in the fifth round of the 1943 draft. That was the year the Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers merged to play as "the Steagles." The merger was necessary due to the manpower shortage caused by World War II.

Wistert said he almost quit after the first practice, which was held on a scruffy field near St. Joseph's College.

"We practiced behind a gas station," Wistert said. "It was a dumping area for oil cans, broken glass, things like that. It was a junkyard. Guys were standing around before practice smoking. I came from Michigan where everything was first class. We played and practiced on nice grassy fields. This was quite a comedown. It was like sandlot football.'"

Fortunately for the Eagles, Wistert decided to stick it out and he became one of the finest linemen in franchise history. His blocking helped Van Buren win four NFL rushing titles and the Eagles posted a 20-3-1 regular-season mark in their two championship seasons.

"Al was our captain and our leader," said Pritchard, who played in the backfield with Van Buren. "He was always first down the field on kickoffs and punts. He was very fast pulling out of the line on offense. He was an excellent downfield blocker. He did it all. Al was the greatest offensive tackle I've ever seen or played with."

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